My True Love
by Anka7995
Summary: Neville describes his true love. Drabble.


_**My True Love**_

It is really amusing when you fall in love, not at time of course, but after you have fallen completely and then won the love of your life, until then you cannot actually think about anything else then the person of your affection and even after years of being in love, they are always in your back of your mind, always there, whenever you see something it reminds you of them. How they would love it? How they would not approve of your behavior?

For me she was always there since I was eleven, since the moment I lost my toad and she decided to help me.

Hermione Granger… it would seem to you like nothing scared her. She was standing straight and upright, her shoulder thrown back, exhibiting confidence, while I stood hunched, nervous by her side as she searched for my toad. At eleven, one cannot have romantic feelings, so I did not fall in love with her the moment I met her. She always awed me. She studied, a lot and liked to stay in the library and nothing scared her that made her weird enough. She was best at every subject, you name it. And knew everything about everything and was best friends with the boy who lived. All this on the surface, but I have seen her up close and personal. She seems to be all tough but she can be nervous and scared and when she is scared she starts to be bossy and speaks in a slightly high pitched voice.

The school time was passed for her in danger and shared happiness of friends and family. She, Ron and Harry loved each other and I was sometimes jealous about the friendship they shared. Not particularly for Hermione, but because of the bond between them, it was so strong and even when they were fighting; they cared for each other deeply. I never considered Hermione more than an acquaintance, even though she helped me through tumultuous school years where I was bullied not only by students but also the Potions Master and helped me through courses. It was me and my mind, who thought that Hermione was just taking pity on me. But that was not the case, she loved and cared for everyone around her, in general and considered me as her first friend since the first day of Hogwarts, it was later I learned that she thought I did not want to be her friend.

She loves to read, in general. Books are her life and soul and she actually likes to study. I had always thought she wanted to prove something to the Pure-bloods and people who thought mud-bloods were not worthy to have magic. Later, I had learnt that she just genuinely loved to learn and study and tensing herself over issues was her hobby. She would fuss about little things and was never completely relaxed, if not for one thing she was tensed about something either.

One day, about a year after the war, the same time since we became friends from acquaintances, everything was semi-normal, all the trials had ended a week ago and finally the world seemed to be at peace. Harry and Ron were in Auror training, Hermione and I had just finished repeating our seventh year and were contemplating what should we do with our future. Hermione had taken time to go to Australia and revive her parents' memories who were wary of her in the beginning but given her reasons decided to forgive her but they could not forget and still, things were awkward among the Grangers. But over-all, everyone was happy.

Hermione came to my house, where only I lived after Gran passed away, she looked positively panicked, sending me into my mode of paranoia and I assumed something wrong had happened.

"What's wrong, Hermione, did something happen?" I had asked her, scared that somehow Ministry had left out some lone death eater who decided to bring Voldemort's legacy back and someone had disappeared, while my brain developed multiple scenarios, Hermione looked up at me but said nothing.

"Hermione?" I asked again.

"Nothing happened," Hermione said, shaking her head, "That's the problem, I am tensed because I am not tensed, I am completely relaxed, I have been appointed as a trainee for teaching Transfiguration in place of McGonagall, and Ron and I are again on speaking terms, everything is fine and I am not tensed, but that's why I am tensed."

I stared at her, my mouth hanging open slightly, and then I laughed, she had looked up at me with the angriest expression darted towards my way and was about to say something really haughty, but then she looked at me and started laughing, too.

That day, we sat down and talked, she told me everything about her life, from her worst fears to her dreams and I realized I was in love with the girl, no woman, beside me.

That was the night, I kissed her for the first time.

We started dating from then.

It was not an easy ride, I was training to become an Auror for my Gran's wishes and in hopes of making Mum and Dad proud. Their conditions worsened rapidly and Healers said that there was no hope, at the same time, Hermione was immensely busy with her training and we hardly made time for each other.

Sometimes I thought that we were on the verge of breaking up but Hermione always surprised me she was there, always there and somehow we survived.

I finally gave up my Auror job two years later and joined Professor Sprout for training to be the Herbology Professor, Hermione's suggestion.

Just like every relationship, our relationship had ups and downs but at the end of the day having Hermione with me was worth it... my true love…

**Word Count: 977**


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